It’s a cruel irony that a city firefighter lost his life Thursday battling a blaze just hours after the FDNY formally honored the last smoke-eater killed on the job and just a month after the service-related death of another department member.

It’s all a grim reminder of how New York’s first responders put their lives on the line each and every day.

The fire was described as relatively minor. Yet nothing is routine when it comes to keeping New Yorkers safe.

Deputy Chief Michael Fahy knew that: He was the last firefighter to die in the line of duty, killed in a Bronx gas explosion last September. It was his name that Commissioner Daniel Nigro added to the department’s memorial wall earlier Thursday.

So did another 14-year vet — EMT Yadira Arroyo — who was run down and killed last month by a joyrider on her ambulance.

There are few words beyond consolation to offer William Tolley’s family, friends and colleagues at this time, save this:

Like the 1,146 FDNY heroes before him who gave their lives to protect this city, he had one thought — service over self. RIP.